


Excruciate

by unwindmyself



Series: curious shapes shift in the dark [34]
Category: True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exposition, Female Friendship, Fix-It, Gen, Sisters, Team Dynamics, Vampire Family, agency and choices!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 14:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1350199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwindmyself/pseuds/unwindmyself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Bill continues to attempt to exert his pull on Jessica, the others discuss the situation and its implications.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Excruciate

**Author's Note:**

> Part two, "Singers and the Endless Song."

Neither Nora nor Pam is particularly inclined toward babysitting, but while Eric and Sookie catch each other up – mostly on the circumstances surrounding the various babies, but also what gossip they’ve heard about their evil god, the various reasons for taking down the governor’s little vamp camp (and why Sookie and the Bellefleur girls ought to help – namely that from what Willa could assume about her father, if he knew there were other supes out there he’d turn his attentions toward them too), not to mention other sundry points of interest – that’s what they’re doing.

Or rather, Pam is actually keeping an eye on the baby fairies and fielding their silly questions while Nora splits her attention between attempting to doctor for Jessica and attempting not to flip out over said baby fairies. She and Willa are crammed into the armchair, kitty-corner from the couch where Jessica writhes under those silver chains, and Pam’s pretty sure they haven’t dropped hands since they entered.

Tara, Pam is very proud to note, is doing a much better job of holding it together. Maybe it’s just because they’ve been around the fairy girls before and had a tiny chance to get used to it, but she’d also like to think that it’s temperamental, that Tara is more used to being cool about this kind of thing. As such, it’s mostly Tara who’s doing the hands-on taking care of Jessica, too (Pam still doesn’t quite get it, doesn’t really even understand most friendships in general, but she knows those two could count as friends even before all of this forced them all to form their little coalition) and mostly Tara who’s attempting to engage the Bellefleur girls. Mostly.

“I guess askin’ you guys if you have any snacks around would be kinda silly, wouldn’t it,” Charlaine says dryly, leaning against the counter and very gamely ignoring the way that the word “snacks” makes Willa whimper. They’re getting used to this.

“I’d offer to drive you down to the corner store,” Pam drawls, “but somehow I don’t think that’d fly.”

True enough, from her seat at the dining table Sookie looks up and glares. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Pam or any of the others (or, well, more than she trusts others at this point; she doesn’t trust anyone entirely anymore) but, well, that isn’t happening.

“You could go grab ‘em something,” she offers instead, smiling sweetly.

“French fries,” Braelyn exclaims, hopping up on the counter and blowing her bangs up out of her eyes. “Lots of French fries.”

“And Cokes,” Danika adds.

“Why is it always me that ends up playin’ errand girl,” Pam grumbles, but she grabs her wallet and steps out to do that. On one hand, it’d make more sense for the task to be undertaken by someone who needs to leave the room awhile till they calm down, but Willa shouldn’t exactly be out and about where anyone could find her, and Nora’s not exactly inconspicuous around here. At least Pam can pass for somebody’s soccer mom today.

“Y’all should really think about keepin’ stuff around for your human guests,” Adilyn suggests.

“You five are the first of those we’ve had here,” Eric says, shrugging very politely (this isn’t much different than dealing with humans at the bar; it’s utilizing a certain kind of manners that he’s decent enough at). “Were we back at Fangtasia, we’d be better able to accommodate you.”

“Cool,” Danika says. She swivels around on her barstool to face Sookie more directly before asking, “When this is all done, will you take us there?”

Sookie blanches. “No way in hell,” she exclaims, with a raised eyebrow that clearly means _and that is all we will say of that_.

“Please?” Charlaine joins in anyway. “If you’re teachin’ us how to fight usin’ our light, why couldn’t we?”

Entreatingly, Sookie glances to Eric, who opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by a loud, shuddery moan from the couch where Jessica still lies, one that sounds a lot like “ _Just wanna taste_ ,” so he quickly takes back what he was about to say and instead points out, “It might be too much risk for you girls, I’m afraid. Even if you can defend yourselves.”

“But she’s just bein’ possessed or whatever,” Braelyn pouts. “Everyone else –”

“Everyone else still runs the risk of acting inappropriately,” Eric says.

“And it’s not quite possession,” Nora jumps in. “Not in the traditional sense. Mind, it’s been a while since I witnessed a proper possession –”

“You’re not missing much,” Eric interjects.

Nora frowns sympathetically at her brother (if she wasn’t still afraid to get out of this chair, for her own sake and Willa’s both, she’d probably get up to pat his shoulder or some such) before continuing. “But they typically involve the possessing party being a spirit, not a presence, albeit a currently-deific one, on this earth. What Billith is doing is attempting to summon Jessica, and although the effect is easier to resist for a number of reasons, it’s still somehow possible because she’s…” She trails off, and Eric notices her eyes go wider even than they had been, which he assumes she’ll explain if it matters. “Because she’s his progeny.”

“Okay, whatever,” Braelyn rolls her eyes. “How long’s this gonna keep up?”

Willa and Tara both shrug, looking concerned about it – Tara more in general and for Jessica’s sake, Willa more like she’s really hoping for answers from the grown-ups – and Eric and Nora exchange worried glances. “We don’t know,” Eric says slowly.

“Normally when a vampire’s summoned they feel compelled to go there right away, or as soon to right away as is possible,” Nora explains. “But since the Bill who made Jessica had released her and besides that doesn’t truly exist anymore, the effects seem easier to resist.”

Jessica groans again, prompting Tara to stroke her hair calmingly.

“Easier,” Nora clarifies. “Not easy, but – while it’s having a noticeable physical effect on her, and making her rather bloodthirsty into the bargain, it’s not the same sort of compulsion.”

“It’s more like when that witch was tryin’ to enchant all the vampires into meeting the sun,” Sookie murmurs, catching Tara flinching and mouthing a “sorry” at her before adding to the girls, “You heard about all that.” From reading her mind, that is. “Since y’all have Jess silvered down she’s not goin’ anywhere, but if you didn’t she’d be followin’ whatever god-magicks Bill used.”

“And that’d be bad,” Charlaine surmises.

“Hell, yeah, it would be,” Sookie exclaims. “Bill’s bad news, and just ‘cause he’s the one who made Jessica doesn’t mean that he’s the one who still counts as her family. That’s, y’know.” Almost sheepishly, she waves to Eric, then Tara and Willa and Nora. “All you guys.”

“We are,” Willa agrees with a grin.  She still really likes saying it.

“So now we wait,” Tara concludes. “Hopefully, he gets tired of this and lets up.”

 

* * *

 

By the time Pam returns with snacks, the girls are starting to get restless (Braelyn is lounging on the island like she’s being photographed for a magazine, Charlaine is reorganizing all the TruBlood in the refrigerator, Adilyn and Danika are taking turns braiding each other’s hair) and Jessica and the others are starting to calm down (which is to say she’s still whimpering like she’s in pain, but the skin over her heart has returned to a mostly-normal color; Willa and Nora have left the chair, Nora’s moved to the table to sit beside her brother and Willa’s perching on the arm of the couch smiling soothingly at Jessica).

“As requested,” Pam monotones, dropping the orders of fries on whatever counter space isn’t currently being used as a bench and setting the drinks down beside them.  “This oughta hold you till…”  A look at Eric and Sookie then.  _Till what, exactly?_

“Well, I need to teach ‘em how to fight if we’re gonna be mounting all these attacks,” Sookie says.  “And I figure y’all need to do the same for Willa, right?”

“Yeah, and I was gonna show Jess some things, too,” Tara pipes up.  Another reason she’s the unofficial team leader of the baby vamp squad: she’s been kicking asses since before she was even made, it’s old hat to her.  And while it’s not like Jessica has never been in a fight before, she’s also never really been told _how_ to fight.

“If you didn’t mind,” Charlaine says sweetly, “I bet you could show all of us a few.”  After all, they wouldn’t just wanna go into it relying on their light, would they?

Tara makes a slight face, but it’s not like she hadn’t sort of expected to be asked.  “That okay?” she asks Sookie, because as far as she’s concerned it’s a decent enough idea.

“Hey, we all oughta be prepared,” Sookie points out.


End file.
